Using Praat to Develop English Majors' EFL Intonation Production

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of using Praat on developing the EFL intonation production of English majors whose inefficiency in such a skill constituted the rational for the present study. Participants (N = 40) were thirdyear students in the English Department, Faculty of Education, University of Sadat City, during the first semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group (n = 20) and a control one (n = 20). An EFL intonation production test was developed and administered before and after experimentation, which lasted for 4 weeks. During this time, the experimental group students were taught using the speech analysis software Praat while the control group students received regular instruction. The results revealed that the experimental group students achieved significant improvement in EFL intonation production. Thus, using Praat had a positive effect on developing English majors' EFL intonation production.